Pro rasslin’ has somehow weaved its ring ropes through my life ever since I was a wee lad.
As a child I was glued to “Georgia Championship Wrestling” and hung on to ever word announcer Gordon Solie, the Walter Cronkite of wrestling, dispensed from his lips. I watched in awe as every masked heel and bleached blonde babyface battled it out in the squared circle. The lisp-laced anecdotes of Dusty Rhodes and ego-centric rants of of Ric Flair all became words to live by.
While I’ve never been a man of mammoth stature, I found myself entering the wrestling ring in the late ’90s to be trained as a bad guy manager. I became the Monopoly Man, a money grubbing socialite in a top hat and tails with a penchant for cheating.
A few years later I found myself working for Dusty Rhodes himself, managing a stable of wrestlers in his Turnbuckle Championship Wresting (TCW) organization. Although our television show never materialized, it was an amazing opportunity to work alongside some of the heroes of my youth and the stars of tomorrow.
My fondest memory of working in TCW came on a Friday evening in Carrollton, Georgia. The TCW TV show was on the verge of launching in Macon, and Dusty was busy compiling footage. This particular night would play host to a tag team tournament, and I was paired with a couple of guys (Shocker Sean Evans and Sonny Siaki), both of whom I’d never met.
Rhodes asked each of the eight or so tag teams to cut a videotaped interview as if our respective team had won the tournament. When it was our turn, Rhodes told my wrestlers to keep quiet and let me do the talking.
After my caffeinated promo, a flurry of applause from all of the wrestlers on the set followed. Dusty Rhodes and the booking team then adjourned to a back room.
Dusty and company emerged with a decision. My team would win the tournament.
That proved to be the ultimate compliment from one of the greatest performers in rasslin’ history. And I’ve kept that accolade in a constant headlock inside my mind ever since.
After TCW failed to take off, I put my top hat and Monopoly money away and concentrated on focusing most of my time on journalism. Yet, as fate would have it, wrestling keeps pulling me back in.
This time, however, it’s in the name of fitness. Late last December I wrote an article for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about former WCW champion Diamond Dallas Page and his newfound career as a health and fitness guru. Instead of body slams, Page is transforming bodies with DDP Yoga, his hybrid of yoga moves, calisthenics, rehab techniques and dynamic resistance. He’s literally saving lives, and the results have jaws scraping the floor. If you've never seen the Arthur Boorman video, do yourself a favor and watch:
I became so impressed with DDP Yoga that I decided to give it a go. Today I start my sixth week in the program. I’m 20 pounds lighter, getting toned and becoming increasingly more flexible. Thanks to DDP Yoga, I actually look forward to exercising. This is coming from a guy who would typically prefer to be curled up on a couch in the fetal position nursing a bag of Funyuns.
Instead of managing wrestlers, I’m getting to know them, including Page and his housemates, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall. Seeing Page at work is nothing short of inspirational. I honestly believe this is much more than a second career to him. Positivity emanates from the man, and his main concern isn't about lining his pockets. The towering dude with the tattooed biceps has a heart underneath those pecs. Diamond Dallas Page genuinely wants to help his fellow man.
Roberts is a living and breathing inspiration, having dropped nearly 70 pounds and walked away from the throws of addiction. Hall may be the new kid on the block, but the determination I see in his eyes might eventually make him Page’s next they-said-it-couldn’t-be-done success story.
Roberts is a living and breathing inspiration, having dropped nearly 70 pounds and walked away from the throws of addiction. Hall may be the new kid on the block, but the determination I see in his eyes might eventually make him Page’s next they-said-it-couldn’t-be-done success story.
Many wrestling fans could have never imagined Page as a fitness icon, Jake “The Snake” turning his life around or Scott Hall reaching for redemption. For me, I would’ve never imagined that wrestling would still be making an impact in my life by providing me with a health regimen like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
Yeah, rasslin’ keeps pulling me back in, but I ain’t tapping out.
Here’s a link to my story on Diamond Dallas Page and DDP Yoga:
You can learn more about DDP Yoga here:
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